Days of Water and Air
by Imaginarivalued
Summary: Kataang Week. Last Day.
1. First Day

"That Sokka. Taking my umbrella and leaving me with his paper with a hole on a stick." Aang muttered, staring at the huge gaping hole in his umbrella, where the rain invaded through.

He had been careless as he left, grabbing the remaining umbrella without inspecting it.

Only when it began raining with him in the middle of the market did he finally realize the rain-protection device he brought with him had a fatal flaw.

Before he decided to fold the defected device and just try to run back to the inn, an all-so pleasing (especially to him) feminine voice called to him.

"Aang!"

Despite being practically soaked from head to toe, Aang couldn't resist the happy grin from surfacing.

"Hey, Katara," the young Avatar greeted the female waterbender, who ran to him, under her own no-holes-attached perfect little red umbrella.

"Aang," Katara echoed, after she gave the boy a quick smile and an onceover, "why are you wet!? You have an umbre—why does your umbrella have a hole?"

Aang sighed. "It was the only one left, and I didn't give it a good look before I left."

Katara couldn't help but giggle as rain continued to land on Aang's head through the hole.

He smiled back ruefully. "I guess this is just the price one pays for negligence."

Katara smirked. "It's more like the consequences for letting Sokka take your umbrella and leaving you with his."

Aang smirked back. "Yeah, there's that, too." He wiped off the rain gathering in his eyebrows. "So, you gonna invite me under there, or do I have to grovel? I have to tell you though, I haven't been practicing lately."

The girl smiled, and moved towards the airbender. But then she paused, a thoughtful expression crossing her face, and her smile widened.

She closed her collapsible canopy, eliciting a confused look from Aang. She took hold of his hand, and slipped her umbrella through the hole, reopening it after it passed through, and stood with him under the new cover.

The boy looked at their connected hands, and then to the intertwined umbrellas.

With a slightly coy smile, Katara edged closer and closed the gap between their lips.

"_Remember_," the girl whispered after the kiss ended, both their faces flushed and dreamy, "_whenever you need……I'll always be there…… to patch things up for you_."

The undertone of hidden meanings was not lost to the Avatar, and his smile became serene.

"_I'll hold you to that……_" he murmured, and captured her lips once again.

The girl and the boy continued standing together, with their intertwined hands, lips, and umbrellas, all under the rain.

* * *

AN: I just realized it's Kataang Week about two hours ago, so this isn't really my best work. I'm sort of disappointed. I'll try to do better for the other topics.


	2. Second Day

He told Katara he didn't love her.

It was the biggest lie he'd ever uttered from his lips.

The war had ended, and the nations were at peace with each other, that didn't necessarily include individuals.

People adored the Avatar that finally ended the war that persisted for a hundred years, the majority of them did.

A minority of them despised him for it. The loyalists to Ozai. Another portion simply didn't care, and continued with their lives, whether it be lives of good, evil, and everything in between.

People conflict with each other. That is the ugly nature of humans.

There was tension. A mutual need for peace existed between the nations, but the loathing and the hating and the deaths could not suddenly disappear and be resolved over night.

And it was the Avatar's job to ensure another war would not erupt.

So another journey began. Righting wrongs wherever it may be found, saving people in need of rescue, settling disputes whenever they arise.

Katara was by his side from beginning. Sokka, Suki, and Toph stuck with them for awhile, but then departed after a short while, each having their own lifetimes to build.

Katara's lifetime was with him, Aang had hoped. Judging by the way she had looked at him, that was what she hoped too.

Because he loved her, and she loved him.

So they traveled together like they did before, and did their best to try and enjoy what the world allowed them to.

They visited places they've been to and parts of the world they have not. They met new faces and made new friends. They even managed to run into a few spirits and ancients beasts that still dwell among the world.

However, enemies always lurked in the shadows, and sooner or later, the two had stepped into them.

It wasn't that much of a threat in the beginning. After all, Aaang was the Avatar and Katara was a Master Waterbender, no normal foes could inflict harm to them easily.

But the attacks came constantly, and eventually they sustained damage, and naturally, Aang had thought bitterly, it had to be Katara.

She had been wounded badly, but her life was not in peril. That was when the thought made its debut.

They stayed strong and together, danger was nothing new to them.

The next time she was injured, it had been worse.

The thought made its second surfacing: Staying with me will become the death of her.

It was different from when they were on the quest to stop the war, for there was an end. They either fail and everyone dies, or they succeed, and the goal is reached.

This time, he could not see the light at the end of the tunnel.

He already felt guilty about being unable to provide a stable life for her, compounded with the realization her life was threatened simply because she was with him……

Others may have dealt the blows, but he was the cause.

There was no end to the journey, it seemed. Being the Avatar, he was the target of all, good intentions and bad, and the bull's-eye was tattooed upon his flesh.

He had asked her to stay at home in the South Pole.

She had refused, because home was where he was.

He had promised to visit.

She had argued that they would be apart during those intervals, something unwanted for her.

He had considered letting the world and the people in it to sort out their own problems and disappear with Katara to parts unknown. He gave the world peace. It wasn't fair it couldn't do the same in return.

But he was the Avatar. His sole duty is to the world, not the other way around.

He loved her. Her happiness above his. Her safety above all else.

And if at his side was the most dangerous place for her……

So he had distanced himself from her, spent less time with her, slowly ceased acts of intimacy.

He wanted to put a wedge between her and that which threatened her safety. It was only ironic that it happened to be him.

He remembered the look of bewilderment upon her lovely face, the inquisition, the confusion, the pleading, the tender, pained eyes……

He knew he was causing both of them immeasurable pain, but……

Her safety above all else……

He wanted to her to give up on him, to find happiness elsewhere, wherever and whoever it may come from.

He was going to let her go, only this time there wasn't any Avatar State to master.

So his lie dragged on, until she finally confronted him.

Then he told her his feelings have changed, that he…didn't love her…

He had watched her reflection in the mirror.

And felt sick.

The quivering lips, the disbelief and anguish in her eyes……

He really was the cause of much undeserved grief for her.

He had steeled himself, preparing for this moment, but he still felt like absolute platypusbear shit.

All the months and years came down to now, with him averting his eyes and waiting for the cry and the slam of the door.

But none of it came.

Behind him, Katara had transitioned through various emotions, and ultimately settled on something that looked akin to determination and rage.

She caught him off guard, spun him around to face her with a swift waterwhip.

Ignoring his startled appearance, she held his face, and kissed him.

So shocked was Aang, his eyes wide and……longing……

Again, before he could react, Katara pulled back, and stared deeply into his grey eyes.

He saw a shine in them, and knew that she saw through his lie.

"Why, Aang?" she asks softly.

"I'm a roaring fire, Katara," he replies just as softly, "I may not burn you, but my smoldering smoke will eventually suffocate you…"

"If it comes to that, then so be it…"

"_Katara_…" he pleads.

"I want to be happy…," she breaths, "if the price is my security in life, then I'm willing to pay it. It is my decision to make, not yours to make for me."

He looks away.

She gently brings his eyes back to hers.

"I want to be happy…" she repeats, "…and that can only happen if I'm with you…"

He nods, and chokes on unshed tears. "I'm……_so_ sorry…"

She wraps her arms around his neck.

She looks at their reflection in the mirror, and smiles. He looks too, and slowly, does as well.

"Do you love me?" she asks, her eyes searching his once more.

"Since the very first moment, and every moment after…"

Truth has always been better than lies.

* * *

AN: Never mind, I think this one isn't that great either. Angst.


	3. Third Day

Ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump—

BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP……

—ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump—

… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP……

—ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump—

… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP……

—ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump—

… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP……

—ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump—

… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP…… BA-DUMP……

"Ahhhhh!" Toph screams, throwing her hands up, "That's IT!! I can't take it anymore!! Just KISS already!!"

Surprised, both Aang's and Katara's heads snap sharply to the earthbender's irate outburst.

"_BA-DUMP_, _BA-DUMP_, _BA-DUMP_!! That's all I hear!" she points an accusatory finger at the couple who now have sore necks, "Why can't you two pump blood together somewhere FAR AWAY or at least QUIETLY like us normal bipedal creatures of the world!? The tension!! It's raping meeeeeee!!" she screeches toward the sky, pumping her arms up and down.

Aang looks at the ground, embarrassed, while Katara begins to look enraged.

The waterbender opens her mouth to retort, buts yelps instead as the earth beneath her propels her and Aang a couple of feet into the air.

She ends up landing on top of the startled Avatar, their limbs tangled together and their lips slamming into each other's unceremoniously.

"YES! There! I've solved the problem of your suppressed need to molest each other! Now stop contracting your hearts at unreasonable speeds and spare my delicate ears—h-hey!? Wh-what are you g-guys doing!? S-stop that!! I didn't say to start SUCKING each other's faces!! NO! I don't want to feel that! Wha…? AAAAHHHH!! HOLY URINATING BADGERMOLES!! STOP STRIPPING EACH OTHER!! Have you no shame!? I'm right HERE!! AAAHHHH!! NO! I refuse to be traumatized at such an early age!! AAAHHHH!! RUN AWAY!!"

Toph, arms flailing and shrieking, escapes into the forest, to be lost for three days.

Far away, for reasons that elude even himself, Sokka starts screaming in rage.

* * *

AN: There. I know it's crack, but the important thing is I feel better.


	4. Fourth Day

_They flutter about……drifting gently, weaving in and out of the field of blooming flowers…_

_One has wings of cool grey, segregated by intercepting dark stripes, varying in the shades and tints between black and white, like the different slates of a silver stone._

_The other possesses wings of pristine blue, agleam with azure and pearly white sparkles, as if the sunlight had shined off the ocean._

_They land on blossom after blossom, never lingering for long…until they both descend upon the same giant golden sunflower._

_They cease all movements, as if surprised by the other's presence. They remain unmoving for many moments, transfixed with each other._

_Slowly, their wings begin to extend and fold…_

_Then, as if on cue, they take off into the air at the same instant, fluttering, circling one another……dancing to a whirlwind only they can feel._

_Once again, they weave through the vast land of colors._

_But now they flutter together, the blue and grey of their wings mingled……intertwined forever as they race to beyond where the eyes could see……_

"……_Aang?"_

In heartbeats' time, the blurriness subsided, and Katara's beautiful face, framed by the clear, blue sky, dominated his attention.

She grinned at him, and after a few moments of recollections, Aang realized he had dozed off with his head in her lap.

"Well, hello there, little koalahare," Katara addressed the slightly sheepish Avatar in a teasing tone, "I must have been reciting the doctrine of proper Fire Nation dining etiquettes, to put you to sleep like that."

"Can't help it," Aang admitted with a mischievous grin, "your legs are just so warm and comfy."

The Water Tribe girl blushed a pretty pink when the boy began caressing the side of her leg and turned to nuzzle her thigh.

As if afraid of being caught in some sort of scandalous act, the girl glanced at their surroundings.

They were alone, of course, relaxing by a glittering pond in a secluded haven within the forest.

She gave the boy a look of mock vexation, to which the airbender just chuckled in response.

The girl's fake expression of annoyance was suddenly transformed into an evil smirk. In the same position, she swiftly moved backwards, removing her lap from beneath Aang's head, which landed on the grassy ground with a small thud.

The boy complained with an exaggerated 'owiiieeeee' and was prepared to give the giggling girl his best 'pouty-tigerseal-cub' look when she plopped down right next to him, rested her arms across his chest, and snuggled into the crook of his neck.

"It's your turn to be my body-size pillow," she murmured with a content smile.

Aang was happy to comply, and hugged the purring girl to him.

A butterfly suddenly fluttered by, catching the Avatar's attention.

Katara, who was watching his gaze, noticed. "It's pretty, isn't it? Such a delicate creature…."

"Yeah…" he answered absently.

Her face scrunched up slightly. "Something wrong?"

Aang shook his head and returned his gaze to the girl in his arms. "No. It's just that…I was having this dream…"

"Good or bad?" Katara asked, a small degree of concern showing in her eyes.

The boy smiled. "I had your lap as my pillow, no bad dreams could come from that."

She poked his chest lightly. "Flatterer, trying to butter me up."

He only smiled wider.

"So what was the dream about?"

Aang looked thoughtful, then: "I dreamt that we were…… butterflies."

Katara appeared interested. "Butterflies? All of us? As in You, me, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko?"

"No, just you and me. You were a beautiful butterfly with blue wings and I was one with grey wings. I was just going through an endless meadow of flowers aimlessly, until I decided to land on this huge sunflower and saw _you_," he emphasized on the last word as he locked his eyes with hers, which shined in mild fascination.

"I fell in love with you, as the butterfly in my dream. I fell in love with you instantly, and you returned that love. And together, we raced through the ocean of flowers."

Katara seemed to have lost her breath, her eyes became dreamy. "Sounds like a wonderful dream then."

"It was," he confirmed, "it's just that it had felt so……_real_…… like I really was a butterfly in a world of flowers…," he stared off into a vision only he could see, "When I was the butterfly, I didn't know I was Aang. I was certain of my own identity, merely a simple butterfly enjoying itself in a beautiful world, meeting another beautiful blue butterfly. But when I woke up, that certainty is dashed, because I realize now that it was a dream, and that I'm veritably Aang again."

"And……?" she prodded, as if having sensed unspoken thoughts from the young Avatar.

"……but how I can be sure? I had no doubt I was a butterfly, only to be proven wrong. Now I'm certain I'm Aang, but maybe I'm just a dream too. For a moment, I was suddenly dumbfounded. Was it Aang dreaming he was a butterfly, or was it the butterfly dreaming it was Aang? If all that I have seen…lived…was a dream……then can all this……this world I'm sharing with you……can it all be a dream too?"

She studied him with intent eyes. "What makes you think none of what you see here is real?"

"This world is full of illusions, Katara. Life, Death, the separation of the Four Elements. They're all illusions that bear a heavy presence in this world. But if everything is but a dream, then those presences are merely illusions as well."

His eyes reached hers once more. "I'm so happy, being here with you. Sometimes it feels so unreal, like a dream come true. Maybe because it really is a dream, and I'm just waiting to wake up to a reality I've always known but forgotten for the sake of this illusion."

They gazed at each other is silence, until Aang chuckled and shook his head lightly. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. It was just a profoundly stupid thought—"

"No," Katara interrupted, "it's not stupid." She stared off in the direction of the pond. "I feel the same way. I feel so absolutely blissful to be able to be here with you in this world, sharing the same sunlight, walking the same earth, watching the same ocean, that sometimes everything does feel like a dream. Who knows? Maybe this _is_ a dream. But if it is, I don't ever want to wake up."

"Me neither," he agreed with a serene smile.

She returned his smile with her own, then rested her head atop his chest. "Besides, even as butterflies, we met and fell in love anyways, right?"

He nodded instead of answering, knowing she could feel the action.

"Then I'm content with either reality."

He hugged her closer. "I love you, Katara…"

She snuggled into his embrace further. "I love you too, Aang……that is no illusion…"

Near the couple, a butterfly gently landed on a peony…

* * *

AN: I thought, since the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender is based off of Asian, and mainly Chinese, cultures, I could throw some of their philosophies into the mix. Everyone knows Chuang Tzu, right? No? Ugh.


	5. Fifth Day

_Aang is many things._

_He is a Master Airbender, the last (for now) Airbender, Savior, Leader, Peacekeeper, the Avatar._

_To Katara, he is also many things._

_He is her best friend, her hope, her air, her lifetime…_

_But most importantly, he is…_

She wraps her arms around him, bringing him close, and nestles her cheek against his chest, as if hugging a giant-sized stuffed animal.

"Mine." She declares.

He chuckles. "Yours."

She pouts at him, takes his hands that stayed at his sides idly, and places them around her waist.

She rests against his chest again.

"Yours." She announces.

He smiles into her hair. "Mine."


	6. Sixth Day

As an airbender, Aang naturally had an affinity for the sky, wind, and generally all forms of aerial activities.

But it wasn't just that simple, as even amongst the Air Nomads, he was extremely predisposed toward the element of air. He had boundless energy that went well with his inclination of thrill seeking. He never lingered in a single place, always looking for new places and fresh faces, the reason why he had a friend in every different nation. He always took it to the sky, either through glider, airbending, or Appa, so he could feel the wind passing across his skin. He loved the Air Temples, the closest thing to a civilization in the sky humans could ever achieve.

This could be evidently seen from the fact that he was the youngest airbender to achieve the level of Master in history (there is that one hundred year gap, during which there was a lack of potential prodigies, but it's too depressing to bring up).

Defying gravity was just what he did. The pull from the earth didn't register into his mind, because he never looked down, eyes forever drawn to the endless world above.

When he was even younger, he had dreamt of being a bird, a creature whose world included the land beneath the boundless sky, but was always detached.

The creation of his Air Scooter seemed to serve that purpose, a way to travel on land but always with the wind between himself and the earth.

The teachings of the monks furthered this, as he was taught to detach himself from the world in order to obtain spiritual enlightenment.

He was the embodiment of the philosophy of the Air Nomads, practically freedom incarnate.

But things changed after he met Katara.

He was still exactly the same person. He still had a wander lust and the irresistible urge to soar through the open air, as well as the want to seek thrills in anything that involved insane velocity.

What changed was that he wanted to be near Katara even more.

He felt an incredible pull towards her, a feeling that did not diminish with time.

The first moment his eyes met hers, he had felt the instant attraction, and he couldn't help but be drawn back them constantly.

Even in his uncontrolled Avatar State, when his powers are amplified to magnitudes unsurpassed by any force in the world, the only person who could return him to normalcy was Katara.

And when he had tried to master the Avatar State and failed, it was because of her. She was and forever will be his attachment to the world, a thread that allowed him to hover and soar, but also an anchor that kept him grounded.

No matter how far or how high he flew, he would always return to the earth, just to be able to hold her.

He realized all of this one day, during a random epiphany while walking through a festival with Katara.

Wearing an expression of utter astonishment, he had turned to her and said: "You're my gravity."

She had blinked at him a few times, unsure of the reason for his sudden words, but shortly after she had merely smiled gently and replied: "That's funny. You're my wings."

He had thought about what she said, and realized that the reason behind her words were the same as his.

They both had a pull towards the other, and as a result, he levitated her, and she grounded him.

But neither of them would have it any other way.

So he had smiled back, took her hand, and kissed her, making both of them feel as if they had taken flight.

* * *

AN: I admit, this particular one had me stomped, so feel free to tell me it sucks. By the way, anyone watch the Beijing closing ceremony? It was pretty awesome, in my opinion.


	7. Seventh Day

Comatose

It was unexpectedly overwhelming, Katara mused, how far her relationship with Aang has progressed.

She never doubted that they were best friends, and lovers (if the extremely heated and intimate nighttime-and-sometimes-early-morning activities were anything to go by), but she noticed that their bond had become practically symbiotic.

They had more fun when they were together. Food tasted better when they ate together (especially when they fed each other, in a naughty way). The sun would look brighter, and the birds' chirps would be merrier. They slept more contentedly in the arms of each other. Hell, even Zuko seemed less angsty when they looked at him together (perspective, perspective).

Simply put, their respective state of being was affected by the other's.

Sokka had mentioned this when Aang was injured by Azula's lightning and went into a coma.

He said she wasn't herself, and had been worried they would end up losing both of them if Aang didn't recover.

They were dependent on each other, they always had been. They just weren't aware of it until they had their arms around each other and felt their souls tingle.

Some say it probably wasn't the healthiest relationship. Losing one of them would mean losing the other.

They were just so much happier and livelier when in the presence of their counterpart, that compared to when they stood alone, those who knew them said they looked depressed.

But they were also significantly stronger together, in spirit and in battle. They were a raging storm when facing foes, and a blooming forest when allowed peace to love.

Their bond had its weaknesses, but it definitely had its strengths.

And as Katara giggled at Aang's goofy grin and attempt to impress her with a novel airbending trick using a marble, she knew she wouldn't want it any other way.

Starlight

Aang once told Katara that she was most beautiful when illuminated by the light of the full moon (she then put on a look of mock anger and deduced to him that he didn't she was beautiful any other time, making him panic and squirm and spout embarrassing things, but that's a story for another time).

It wasn't hard to imagine, really, as waterbenders are at their peak during a full moon, resulting in them being especially vivacious and radiant.

Katara eventually commented that she thought he was prettiest (she used that word specifically to tease him) when basking under the infinite presences of the stars.

After overcoming the initial need to pout, Aang came to appreciate her compliment.

After all, the night sky is never more divine and celestial when the golden full moon is accompanied by the sparkling stars.

And Aang is never more complete when he is with Katara.


End file.
